Masters favourite Dustin Johnson's hopes for winning the green jacket were thrown into disarray on Wednesday afternoon when he suffered a back injury which has placed his participation in huge doubt.

In a statement issued by his manager, David Winkle, he was said to have taken a 'serious fall' stumbling on a staircase at his rented home.

'He landed very hard on his lower back and is now resting, although quite uncomfortably,' the statement read. 'He has been advised to remain immobile and begin a regimen of anti-inflammatory medication and icing, with the hope of being able to play.'

World No 1 Dustin Johnson is a major doubt for the Masters after suffering a serious back injury

Johnson was spotted working on his game just hours before suffering his injury

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DEREK LAWRENSON'S SIX TO WATCH

The Favourite: Dustin Johnson – Seemingly everything in his favour but only one golfer since the 1950s has won four PGA Tour events in a row. But we wait with baited breath to see if he'll compete after his shock injury.

The History Man: Rory McIlroy – Not only the career grand slam but can equal Seve's total of five majors on the very day the great man would have turned 60.

The Rookie: Jon Rahm – An exceptional crop this year with the likes of Tyrrell Hatton and Thomas Pieters but the Spaniard is something really special.

The Redeemer: Jordan Spieth – All eyes will be on the American after last year and how he copes with the devilish par three 12th hole.

The Olympian: Justin Rose – A gold medal around his neck would look even nicer if it was matched with a green jacket.

The Carefree: Jason Day – Beware the relieved golfer, and an Aussie who can freewheel after a positive prognosis regarding his cancer-stricken mum.

What an afternoon. Over at Augusta, all the best plans for a fast, hard-running course for the first round on Thursday were being laid waste by a series of severe storms that dumped a couple of inches on the cherished acres. Perhaps Johnson tripped trying to get to the window to watch the rain sheeting down.

For it looked the perfect scenario for Johnson and Rory McIlroy, the two best golfers in the world. A long course playing still longer and threatening to turn into a slugfest? There were high hopes that we were about to open the majors season with a shootout that represented a Ryder Cup in miniature, with Johnson wearing American red and McIlroy in Europe blue.

It might still happen, of course. 'Beware the injured golfer' is written into the sport's lore. It might help that he is in the last group out on Thursday at 7.03pm, with Bubba Watson and US PGA Champion Jimmy Walker.

But judging by Winkle's statement, it doesn't look good.

If he does pull out, it would continue the sorry theme of the golfing year so far. The fitter these golfers get, it seems, the more vulnerable they are to injury. The sorrowful saga of Tiger Woods and his chronic back problems has dogged the early months and then there's McIlroy. Somewhat ironically, he himself has only just returned after missing seven weeks with a fractured rib. He has played only 14 competitive rounds all year.

Johnson's coach Butch Harmon must have cut a frustrated figure on Wednesday night. The man whose father Claude won the Masters in 1948 and was coach to Woods during his epochal triumph 20 years ago was convinced his man was going to become only the second golfer after Tiger since the 1950s to win four PGA Tour events in a row.

'I don't think we've seen a player since Tiger who has embraced having a bullseye on his back quite like Dustin,' said the Sky Sports analyst, before news of the injury. 'Since he became world No 1 it's like he's raised his game to another level.'

Rory McIlroy was in good spirits on Wednesday afternoon despite the weather at Augusta

He still managed to have a laugh and a joke with long-time caddie JP Fitzgerald during practice

McIlroy played in conditions unfamiliar to the patrons who attend the Masters each year

Actually, there's no 'like' about it — he has raised his game. Since winning the Genesis Open in February to reach the summit for the first time, Johnson has played in two WGC events featuring every other great player and won both with something to spare. Now there's a grave danger he has done what has proven beyond his peers and beaten himself.

Even before Johnson's misfortune, though, there was still plenty to encourage the rest of the field. As Europe's Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn acknowledged: 'We've seen it plenty of times where people come here on great form and they don't perform. This course is so demanding and if you don't stay level-headed then suddenly it brings a lot of other guys into it.'

McIlroy will be even more heavily fancied but he has his own cross to carry in trying to complete the career Grand Slam. As if that's not daunting enough, there are two holes at Augusta where he is clearly not comfortable standing on the tee.

It's quite astonishing to think that if McIlroy had played the fourth and 11th holes simply in level par for the week last year he would have beaten Danny Willett by three strokes.

As it is, he played them in a grotesque nine over. To think in four rounds, and so eight attempts at the two holes, he mustered no birdies and only one par. It will be interesting to see if it has left any scars.

McIlroy has done his best to get over any discomfort, making not one but two reconnaissance trips. It didn't matter to him that play was all but washed out on Wednesday. He had already played 99 holes, so must feel he knows every nuance.

As much as he would have enjoyed the rain cascading on Augusta, the draw might have caused some concern. It is supposed to be windy for most of the first round but increasing in intensity at just the moment McIlroy reaches the first tee at 6.41pm.

Many eyes will be on the 3.56pm grouping featuring Jason Day and Justin Rose — two players who have come here under the radar but who have shown they know how to play this course. Day has just had a massive boost following the positive news regarding his mum, who was suffering from lung cancer, while Rose exudes a confident air.

The par-three tournament was abandoned on Wednesday after severe weather

Defending champion Danny Willett hits a drive on the 18th during practice on Tuesday

Windy conditions should also favour Jordan Spieth, with his masterful short game, and also Phil Mickelson, trying to emulate Jack Nicklaus's achievement and win the Masters aged 46.

From England's XI it will be fascinating to see how Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood fare on their debuts, and keep an eye on Matt Fitzpatrick, tied seventh last year and who can scramble with the best of them.

Even before Johnson's injury, therefore, gut instinct pointed towards a tournament a lot more wide open than simply a contest between the two favourites.

The 81st Masters is about to begin and from all corners they have descended harbouring realistic dreams of England's Danny Willett slipping that precious green jacket over their shoulders on Sunday.

Justin Rose represents a long list of English golfers who could be successful this week

Sheffield-born Matt Fitzpatrick is an outside bet but can scramble with the best of them